Boone County, KY Right to Farm: Farm Nuisance Protection (2026)
Key Facts
- Protected operations
- Farms existing before the nuisance claim
- Excluded
- Kennels, dog and cat production facilities
- Exception
- Negligent operation loses protection
- Grievance filing window
- 30 days of the incident
- Committee size
- 5 members, advisory decision only
- Decision timeline
- Meets in 30 days, rules in 20
Summary
A farm operating lawfully before nearby development moved in cannot be declared a nuisance just because the neighborhood around it changed, under Boone County Code § 93.21. Neighbors who still object to noise, odors, dust or spraying can bring the dispute to a five-member grievance committee under § 93.24 before filing suit.
§ 93.21 PRE-EXISTING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS. No agricultural operation or any of its appurtenances shall be or become a nuisance, private or public, by any changed conditions in or about the locality thereof after the same has been in operation or existence prior to the changed condition, when such operation was not a nuisance at the time the operation began; provided, that the provisions of this section shall not apply whenever a nuisance results from the negligent operation of any such agricultural operation or its appurtenances.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-28: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ordinance 2025-20, passed 6-17-25; and State legislation current through KRS 2025).
Full Breakdown
20 defines an AGRICULTURAL OPERATION broadly to cover crop, livestock and poultry production, horticulture and timber growing, and related activities, but it specifically excludes any facility built to produce or keep dogs and cats or run a kennel. 21 gives a qualifying operation its right-to-farm protection: once the operation existed and was not a nuisance when it began, later changes in the surrounding area, like new subdivisions moving in next door, cannot turn it into a nuisance, private or public, unless the farm itself starts operating negligently.
23 makes the whole subchapter override any conflicting county ordinance or resolution on point. 24 offers a grievance-committee process for complaints about noise, odors, fumes, dust, round-the-clock equipment use, manure storage or the spraying of fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides: the complaining neighbor can bring the dispute, within 30 days of the incident or of learning of it, to a five-member committee made up of a County Judge/Executive appointee, the county's Extension Agent for Agriculture, the Director of the county Planning and Zoning Commission, the President of the County Farm Bureau, and the President of the Northern Kentucky Home Builders Association. The committee investigates, must meet within 30 days of the request, and issues an advisory written decision within 20 days of that meeting.
Violations & Fines
The protection is not absolute: § 93.21 carves out an exception when a nuisance results from the farm's own negligent operation, in which case ordinary nuisance law still applies. The grievance-committee process under § 93.24 is advisory only and does not replace the right to file a private nuisance lawsuit; a neighbor can go to court instead of, or after, bringing the dispute to the committee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can new neighbors sue an existing Boone County farm as a nuisance?
Does the right-to-farm law cover a boarding kennel?
What can I do if a nearby farm's spraying or noise bothers me?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boone County
Compare Boone County to another location·View the Kentucky right to farm overview
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